The Best Friend Hypothesis
by The CrazyCute Girls
Summary: Howard gets suspicious when Raj is 10 minutes late for Chinese Take-Out at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. He grows even more suspicious when Raj is acting extremely clingy, and ends up in his arms, sobbing at the end of the evening. That night, Raj went over to Howards house and something very unexpected happened when Raj explained why he was crying earlier. Bad at summaries! LOL
1. What Happened?

**Hey guys! HEEELLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**Sorry about that... Anyway, I decided to write another RajxHoward Fic (they're probably the only pairing I'll ever write about! LOL) so... here it is! My second TBBT Fic EEEEVVVVAAAAA (Once again, sorry about that... weirdness)! Isn't Eva a name? LOL anyway, I just decided I felt like writing an FF but I had no ideas so I'm just doing the first idea that popped into my little head! Enjoy, science b*tches!**

(Howards P.O.V)

"Hey, where's Raj?" I asked. Leonard, Sheldon, Penny and I were already at Sheldon and leonards apartment eating our Chinese Take-Out, but Raj was still gone. We were already almost ten minutes into the meal and he had yet to show up. I couldn't help but feel a little bit worried for my best friend.

"Why are you asking us?" Penny asked through a mouthful of Pad Thai, probably to piss Sheldon off. "He's your boyfriend."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "He is not my boyfriend!" I yelled, making Penny roll her eyes back at me. Before I had a chance to make a comeback to her rude behavior, the door opened and Raj walked in slowly, looking at the ground the whole time.

"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late," he said, not even noticing that Penny was in the room. He looked like he was upset, but was trying to hide it by staring at the floor.

"Hey, buddy!" I greeted, as I patted the spot on the end of the couch I had saved for him (I was in the middle of the couch, Sheldon was in his 'acoustic sweet spot', Leonard was in his usual chair and Penny sat on the ground by his feet). "Come sit down!" I said, trying to sound friendly when I really felt a bit concerned.

Raj sighed as he took a seat next to me. I couldn't help notice he was sitting closer to me than he normally would and I also couldn't help but wonder why. _He didn't have homosexual feelings for me like Beverly says, right?_ I thought. I decided instead of sitting here awkwardly, I'd talk to him. "Raj, is something wrong?" I asked.

Noticing Penny on the floor, he leaned over a bit and cupped his hands over my ear. I felt his warm breath as he whispered "I'm fine. I just need a hug." I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously?" I asked. Raj looked up at me with teary eyes as he leaned foward and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder. I knew that something was wrong because of this. He didn't just hug me for no reason because we both knew there would be mocking and rude comments after that. Also, he looked like he was about to cry. He wouldn't start crying for no reason either. Something had to have happened to him, but I had no clue what could be wrong.

Trying to get it out of him a different way, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a comforting way as I asked why he was so late. He picked his head up off my shoulder and put his lips by my ear, not moving away from the hug. "No reason," he whispered.

"But there has to be a reason!" I said. "Buddy, you're my best friend! You can tell me anything!" I said.

"I know! I'll tell you when we're alone! Maybe I could go over to your house after dinner?" Raj asked, inviting himself over.

"Okay," I said, brushing my fingers through his messy hair as he laid his head back on my shoulder. I felt anxious to hear the answer when I felt a few teardrops go down my back. I ate my Chinese food as fast as I could because I couldn't stand this much longer. I had to know who upset my best friend and what they did to him.

**YYEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay, that was it! Chapter one! Anyway, question time!**

**1. What happened to Raj?**

**2. How will Howard react when he finds out?**

**3. How will the others react (if Raj ever tells them)?**

**R**

**E**

**V**

**I**

**E**

**W**

**!**

**PLZ!**

**BYEE!**


	2. Injuries

**"Woah... It's like Nerdvana"**

**Sorry XD Anyway, here's something to enjoy for like, 5 seconds (Yeah, cuz that's how long it takes to read a whole chapter).**

(Howards P.O.V)

We had finally got to my house and I was so eager to hear what had happened. I was so distracted that I had accidentally shoved my car key into the front door of the house. After doing this, I couldn't help but think about Penny as I opened a window and crawled into the house through it. I reached my arms out and helped Raj in through the window. Then as we made our way up to my bedroom, I started yelling.

"Ma! I got my car key stuck in the front door!" I complained.

**"THEN GET IT OUT! I'M BUSY!" **My moms manly voice traveled through the walls. I wanted to ask what she was busy doing, but I decided it was better to just let it go. it was probably something gross anyway.

I grabbed Raj by the back of his jacket and pulled him into my room, throwing him onto my bed. "What happened?!" I asked anxiously.

"Don't yell at me," Raj looked up at me with a sad facial expression. I immeditely felt bad when I saw the tears spilling down his caramel colored cheeks. I couldn't help but get teary seeing him like this. I mean, he was my best friend.

"Raj... I'm sorry," I apologized. "I'm just concerned about you! What happened?" I asked more calmly this time.

"I..." Raj hesitated. "C-Can I tell you later?"? He asked.

"Raj, you said you'd tell me when we got here!" I yelled in frustration. The concern and eagerness was killing me! I couldn't wait much longer!

"Stop yelling!" Raj sobbed as he threw his hands over his face and looked down at the bed below him. I couldn't see his face, but I could hear his cute, sad whimpers and it made me go from mad to sad once more. When I was with him, my mood could change instantly. You never knew what would happen when you were with Koothrappli.

"I'm sorry! The anxioty is killing me!" I admitted. "I couldn't help it!" I said as I scooted closer to Raj and wrapped my arms around his small (but still bigger than mine) body. I lied my head down on his shoulder as I rubbed his back in a comforting way. Raj squealed and started shaking in my arms. I quickly pulled away from the hug, wondering what I had done. "What?!" I asked.

Instead of answering my question with a response, Koothrappali just pushed me away and started taking off his blue jacket. He threw the jacket on the ground and grabbed the collar of his shirt, and threw that off as well. He then turned around and I saw that his back was covered with cuts, bruises and scrapes. I gasped as I slowly and gently traced my finger over Koothrappali's injuries. "Oh my gosh... what happened to you?" I asked a thousand times more calm than the other times.

"I was walking to Sheldon and Leonards apartment when I ran into the boys who bullied all through elementary, middle and high school. They grabbed me and dragged me into an alley and beat me up like they did when I was a little boy," Raj cried, heartbroken. He turned to face me again. His eyes glistened with tears, and his cheeks were also covered in them. I also felt heartbroken at the moment as I reached my hands out and placed them on the sides of his head, wiping his hot tears away with my thumbs. He continued to whimper and sniffle as he leaped foward and threw his arms around my neck.

"Raj, that's terrible!" I said, also getting teary. "What kind of stuff did they do?"

"Well, when I was in sixth grade, I always got teased because I was shorter than a third grader, so they started teasing me again about how tiny I was back then," Raj started. This suprised me because he was taller than me currently. He must've had a huge growth spurt at some point, then. "They also teased me about my Selective Mutism," I already knew that this made him feel pretty upset. Being teased about being shy and sensitive was terrible if you were... well, shy and sensitive.

After Raj had finished rambling about the mean stuff they said, I asked him about the injuries. What he had told me so far only hurt emotionally, not physically. "They slammed me against the wall of the alley and punched and kicked me over and over," Raj explained.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know! I didn't do anything!" Raj broke into more tears. "A-And after that they beat me to ground and threatened to kill me if I didn't tell them where I lived a-"

"Why did they want to know where you lived?" I asked in shock.

"I don't know! They're just insane!" Raj cried.

"Did you tell them?"

"No!"

"Then why did they let you go?"

"They didn't! They got distracted by a pretty girl and I made a run for it!" Raj had seriously lucked out there.

I was still in complete shock and disbelief. I can't believe Raj was re-living his elementary, middle and high school nightmare once again. I knew this wasn't the end though. I was gonna find out who they were, and they were really gonna get it. Nobody messed with my best friend and got away with it! "Who are they?! What are their names?! What do they look like?!" I asked a bit too quickly.

"Umm... well..." Raj blushed. He tried to hide the blush by looking down at his fingers as he played around with the comforter on my bed, but it didn't work. I had already seen.

"What is it?" I wondered. "What's wrong?"

"Don't make fun of me-" I cut Raj off instantly.

"Raj! I would never make fun of you in a situation like this!" I said.

"Well, you have before!" Raj said. I sat there in silence. _Was it true? Did I really tease him THAT much? Was I-his best friend-another one of the bullies? _"Whenever I have a problem, instead of helping me, you just mock my pain!" Raj yelled, shoving my arms off of his shoulders. I, once again, sat there stunned. I didn't know what to say. _I AM one of those bullies._ I didn't realize my teasing hurt this much. I mean, I knew I had teased him quite a bit, but I thought he knew I had just been playing around. "You know, I thought I could rely on you, but now I'm thinking otherwise! You **will** make fun of me because of this and that's a **fact**! Some best friend you are!" Raj yelled as he got off the bed and walked over to my bedroom door, just barely opening it before I started yelling again.

"Where are you going?!" I yelled.

"Away from you!" Raj screamed as he walked fully out the door and slammed it shut behind him. This had all happened so quick. I was in complete shock and surprise. What _had_ just happened? What _will _happen to us in the future? _Will_ our friendship continue?

It wasn't until now had I realized what a terrible friend I truly was...

**I hope you cried as hard as I did :( JK! I didn't cry! I'm now wondering if you did though... Questions?**

**1. Uhh... (I think you're expecting this) did you cry?**

**2. Will Raj and Howard make up?**

**3. Will Howard get back at the bullies to protect Raj?**

**4. What will happen next (I bet you'll never guess)?**

**Bye! :D**


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